Google recaps education efforts in 2015 while looking ahead to 2016

The Google for Education team posted a letter today to their “Friends and Family” recounting the success that Google had in the classroom during 2015. The biggest news for Google in the education market is most assuredly the fact that they have captured such a large portion of the market in a very short time frame. Analysts had noted last month that Google had captured a majority of the market for computer devices used in educational settings. The Google for Education team reiterated in their letter today that customers are activating an average of 30,000 Chromebooks every school day.

In addition to the physical devices being sold to school systems, the Google Apps for Education (GAFE) platform is becoming wildly popular and Google now claims to have over 50 million users. Those are joined by another 10 million users of the Google Classroom platform. Possibly the biggest deployment of GAFE and Classroom was in Montgomery County, Maryland where the entire school district moved over to the platform.

Google also summarized some other individual success stories for their education efforts. They noted that educators deployed Chromebooks to 90,000 students in Charlotte, North Carolina and another 84,000 students in Chicago. In terms of classroom success, Google noted that students at the Isle of Portland Aldridge Community Academy in the UK improved their test scores by 19 percent thanks to the use of GAFE and Classroom.

Besides the units being sold to school systems and the platform adoption numbers, Google also backed their efforts with other tangible moves like donations and scholarships. Among these efforts was funding to the tune of $21.7 million for new research, $14 million donated to education related nonprofits, and $1.3 million in scholarships. Google also offers the GAFE suite and unlimited Drive storage at no cost to school systems. Altogether, Google donated more than $50 million for education related efforts.

Google’s Hiroshi Lockheimer, Senior Vice President for Android, Chrome OS and Chromecast, noted in the open letter that Google will be releasing several new Chromebooks in the upcoming year to be used by educators and students. Google is also working on new management features for system administrators and new Chrome tools to be used in the classroom. Google also hopes to continue popular programs like the Google Science Fair, Made with Code, CS First and Doodle4Google.

Raised in North Carolina, Jeff Causey is a licensed CPA in North Carolina. Jeff's past Android devices include an HTC EVO, a Samsung Note II, an LG G3, and a Motorola Moto X Pure Edition along with a Samsung Galaxy Tablet 10.1. He currently uses a Samsung Galaxy S8 and (very rarely) a Nexus 7 (2013). He is also using a Verizon-branded Motorola Moto Z Play Droid supplied by his job. Jeff used to have a pair of Google Glass and a Moto 360 Sport in his stable of gadgets. Unfortunately, his kids have all drunk the Apple Kool-Aid and have i-devices. Life at home often includes demonstrations of the superiority of his Android based devices. In his free time, Jeff is active an active runner usually training for his next marathon, owns a MINI Cooper, and plays Dungeons & Dragons. Jeff has three mostly grown kids and a golden retriever.